


The Love Left Behind

by bad_ash10



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Gen, I may be crying, Series Finale, Time Travel, all the feels, finale speculation, time travel is a bitch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:22:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25864303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bad_ash10/pseuds/bad_ash10
Summary: Not all of the team make it out of their final battle alive, leaving it up to Daisy and FitzSimmons to restore the timeline to the best of their ability so their team may survive after all.
Relationships: Leo Fitz & Jemma Simmons & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson & Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson
Comments: 18
Kudos: 60





	1. The Loss is Immeasurable

**Author's Note:**

  * For [edgeoflights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/edgeoflights/gifts).



> First, this work is for my dear friend @AgentofMarvel084 because she's amazing (both at her art and her writing) and always so helpful when I need a beta or someone to bounce theories and ideas off of, and just in general one of my new fave people in the fandom. :)   
> \-----  
> Yeah, so I'm definitely *not* ok that tonight is the AoS series finale. This work was a wild, crazy thought and I am almost finished, but I at least wanted the first half up before the show tonight. I'll do all I can to get the second half finished and posted before the episode airs!
> 
> Also, this fic has not been Beta-ed and I am currently posting on my lunch break at work, so forgive an errors that I overlooked!

It was just the three of them now, Daisy, Coulson, and May, crouched low to avoid being hit by the plasma guns the Chronicoms and Garrett were firing.

“Come out, come out wherever you are!” Garrett taunted.

“Guys, I’m not seeing a good way out of this one.” Daisy panted as she ducked down a little further.

Coulson gave her and May a brief look, a plan obviously taking shape in his mind. “I have an idea,” he said, and Daisy knew he was about to do something stupidly heroic and self-sacrificing. “Someone’s got to take out Garrett. He won’t see it coming if I self-destruct and take him with me.”

“Don’t you dare, Coulson.” May hissed from her other side. “We’ve lost Mack and YoYo already.”

“Won’t your hard drive be destroyed?” Daisy asked in horror. “There’ll be no coming back this time.”

“I wasn’t meant to be here anymore, Daisy.” He paused briefly, weighing his word carefully. “You two carry on the mission and rendezvous with FitzSimmons as planned. Protect what we’re fighting for. Protect our team. Our family.”

Daisy looked from May to Coulson, weighing their options. As much as she didn’t want to lose him again, he was right.

Another round of shots fired as Garrett and his goons moved closer.

Daisy took his hand and held tight for a moment. “I’ll miss you,” she managed to say, forcing the words past the lump in her throat.

She let him go after just a moment, giving May time to say goodbye as well. Daisy was surprised to see May pull Coulson into a hug before kissing him fiercely, reminding Daisy of their last kiss on an alien ship.

She heard Coulson mumble a soft, “I’ve always loved you,” before Coulson was up and moving toward their enemy.

Daisy was frozen in place- everything was happening so fast she barely registered May’s voice telling her to move. They had to go while Phil took out as many of their enemies as possible. It wasn’t until May tugged her hand that Daisy snapped back to reality and allowed May to lead her through a side door while Garrett and the two Chronicoms were preoccupied with Coulson. She tried to look back, to get one last glimpse of Coulson, but May pulled her through the doorway too quickly.

May dropped her hand as they rounded the corner, still sprinting through the hallway in pursuit of Nathaniel and the timestream. It was their only hope of restoring the timeline.

Daisy’s world was crumbling. She had lost too many people today.

“Daisy?” May asked as they slowed to a brisk walk. “Not yet, ok? We have to finish the mission first. Reset the timeline, then we can deal with today.”

May looked as distraught as she felt. First Sousa. Then Mack and Yoyo. And now Coulson? Their team was disappearing in an irrevocable way. There was no magical way to bring them back this time.

“But May, if we reset the timeline, we don’t know if it will even prevent all this. It could start a new timeline again or we could just...” she was interrupted as plasma blasts came from behind and she and May had to dive down another hallway. Daisy poked her head back around the corner and quaked the two Chronicom hunters that were pursuing them.

She thought they had made it through unscathed, but quickly noticed May was leaning heavily on the wall and her eyes traveled down to the large, ugly burn covering most of May’s side and extending down her hip and thigh. A blast must’ve caught her just as she leapt out of the way.

“Oh. May….” Daisy said as she saw the severity of the injury. May’s jacket had melted where the blast had struck her, and it was impossible to tell what was once leather and what was May. She was no doctor, but this was easily one of the worst injuries she had seen.

 _No. She couldn’t lose May, too._ “Come on, May,” Daisy said hooking May’s arm over her shoulder and preparing to carry the older agent if she had to. Simmons could fix her if they could get out of this.

May gasped at the pain of being jostled. “Daisy. No.” she said through gritted teeth. “I’ll only slow you down.”

Tears were filling Daisy’s eyes, blurring her vision. She wouldn’t, no couldn’t leave May. “No. I can’t. I- I- can’t do this alone, May.”

May was still standing, but barely. Most of her weight was being supported by the wall behind her. “Daisy, you listen to me.”

Daisy shook her head, tears falling openly now. This was too much in one day. Everyone she loved was dying and she was powerless to stop it.

“ _Daisy,”_ May grabbed her arm tightly. “They’re going to keep coming. I can buy you a little time, but you have to _go.”_

No. _No._ She would rather die with May. Was there any point in living anymore? The world was fucked. The timeline was fucked. Did it even matter what she did anymore?

Melinda could obviously sense her growing despair, and tears swam in her eyes too. “You _don’t_ stop fighting until we win. You take out Nathaniel and your sister, you get the timestream, and then you quake these Chronicom ships to pieces.”

Daisy shook her head. She didn’t want to fight anymore. “But May…”

“No. Daisy, I’m counting on you to reset _our_ timeline. There is no S.H.I.E.L.D. without _you._ ” May pulled her into a one-sided hug and held her tight.

Daisy buried her face in May’s shoulder and stayed as long as May let her, mourning all the loss she’d experienced and already mourning a loss that was yet to come.

All too soon though, May pulled away, tear tracks down her face. “Now go. You take out that bastard, and you make sure our ragtag team meets in whatever timeline you end up in, ok?” May wiped the tears from Daisy’s face and gave her a watery smile.

Daisy nodded resolutely and helped May ease down to the floor where she would have a view of anyone coming after Daisy as she made her way to Nathaniel.

“I’m sorry the universe demands so much of you, Daisy. You deserve more than what you’ve been given,” May said in a pained voice.

“You, too, May.” A sudden thought struck Daisy and she unholstered her gun and pressed it into May’s hands. “Don’t argue. You need it.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 18 Months Later: FitzSimmons and Daisy have a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's my birthday today! Yay, me! But so that being said, I got a little drunk and tried to proof this story that I wrote on my phone during my lunch break over the course of a few days last week. So if this doesn't make sense, let me know because between the alcohol and trying to write on my phone, there's no telling what this looks like.

“Ready, Daisy?” Fitz asked, Alya in his lap on the command deck of the Zephyr.

Daisy steeled herself, trying her best to be ready, but time travel was a bitch and she really wasn’t looking forward to doing it again. But it was the only way to bring back Mack, YoYo, and May. As for Coulson, they were unsure how to handle the situation. He didn’t want to be brought back last time and they were unsure how things would play out this go around. Sure, they had the technology, but they would leave the decision up to May this time.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Daisy said with a sigh. She had spent most of the last year and a half in a deep depression, trying her best to keep little Alya entertained while Fitz and Simmons worked on the scientific aspects of their plan.

Jemma gave Daisy a small but encouraging smile. “Don’t forget the odds are in our favor, Daisy.”

That was true. Fitz had been examining the time stream again and had found a way for them to ‘reset’ their timeline. In his studying of the time stream he had discovered several key points in history that needed to happen to ensure the team eventually found their way to each other. If they could ensure these moments happened, they would be able to meet the rest of the team at Izel’s temple, only this time without the threat of Chronicoms forcing them once again on a time heist.

In all honesty, it made her head hurt to think about time travel too much. Simmons attempted to explain by comparing their mission to the line from _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_ where Harry says “I knew I could _do_ it because I’d _already done_ it!” when referencing seeing himself cast a Patronus. It didn’t help Daisy very much.

What helped Daisy was to know that everything had already happened once, and they were just making sure it happened again. Either way, she was getting May, Mack, and Yoyo back. The only uncertainty was Coulson.

“We’ve got this, guys,” Daisy said bracing herself as Fitz typed something in the computer.

“Hold on then. We’re going back to the 90’s,” he added before hitting the last key to send them back through time.

* * *

In the Shield academy, Daisy nervously sat behind the desk in a small corner office, waiting for the knock on the door.

She rifled through drawers for a few more moments, pretending to look busy in case someone came in unexpectedly.

A knock eventually came, and Daisy cleared her throat before taking a deep breath to calm herself. “Come in!” She said with as much authority as she could muster under the circumstances.

The door opened halfway and though Daisy knew who to expect, she was still caught off guard when the young woman walked through the door.

“Am I in the right place, ma’am?” Melinda May asked. “I’ve never been to this part of campus before.”

“That depends.” Daisy said, sizing up the young version of May. “Are you...” Daisy trailed off and checked the paperwork in front of her to keep up appearances, “Melinda May?”

“Yes, ma’am.” May confirmed.

It was odd seeing May this way. She lacked the stoic confidence that Daisy was so accustomed to in the older Melinda. At the same time though, she was still very much the same. From the way she shifted her weight to one foot, to the way she set her jaw when she was finished speaking, it was all May. Daisy has been so focused on her grief the last few months that she hadn’t realized she had started to forget all these little things that made May _May_ , and these reminders of what was at stake were enough to make Daisy’s breath catch in her throat.

“Well, have a seat then,” Daisy managed with a smile.

May sat on the edge of the chair and eyed Daisy curiously. “I was told there was a problem with my schedule.”

Leave it to May to get right to the point. “Well, Ms. May, you have all the required courses and several electives under your belt already. And Director Carter has taken notice of your skill.”

The beginnings of a smile spread over May’s face briefly before she schooled her features back into a neutral expression. “Really?” She asked with pride.

Daisy chuckled. “Yes. But she has been wondering why you haven’t signed up for any of the co-op electives with sci-ops or communications?”

“I want to be a specialist.” May said matter-of-factly. “I didn’t think they would be of much use.”

Daisy chuckled. “Now, Ms. May, you have to learn to play nice with the other divisions of the Academy.” Noticing May still looked unimpressed, Daisy boldly decided on a new tactic. “Let me give you a scenario. You’re undercover at an event, wearing a killer dress, and you need to surveil the room for cameras and other recording devices. Now there’s a dance floor full of people being dipped by their partners and spinning circles around the room. You tell me which option would be less conspicuous- walking the perimeter, hoping you won’t be spotted as you search for cameras, _or_ making your way across the dance floor, enabling you to covertly check the room?”

May crossed her arms, unconvinced. “Let me get this straight, _Director Carter_ wants me to take a dance elective?”

Daisy chuckled again. It was a good thing she and FitzSimmons had planned for this reaction. “I don’t remember saying that, Ms. May. I’m giving you an example. Now, what I _am_ saying is that Director Carter wants several of the top students to expand the subject matter of their elective course work.”

“What are my options?” May questioned.

“As you know, classes have already been scheduled for the next semester, so options are limited.” Daisy checked her paperwork again. “It looks like the only two co-op electives with open spaces are Undercover Ballroom Dancing 101 with students from Communications or Crafting a Cover 301 with students from Sci-Ops.”

Melinda made a face at her options. “Sci-ops are intolerable. I guess sign me up for the dancing,” she grumbled.

* * *

Daisy made her way back to the cloaked Zephyr, feeling lighter already. Step one of their plan was complete.

“Guys?” Daisy called as she made her way up the ramp and into the lab. “She’s taking the dance elective!”

“Aunt Daisy!” Alya squealed as she leapt from behind a door, obviously hoping to scare Daisy. “Did I scare you?” she questioned in her adorable accent.

Daisy swung Alya into her arms and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. “You did, you little rascal!”

Alya dissolved into fits of giggles as Daisy started tickling her ribs.

“Daisy?” Simmons asked as she and Fitz came into the room. “Did you get her to take the class with Coulson?”

“Who?” Alya asked curiously, still in Daisy’s arms.

“I did!” Daisy said with a big smile.

“WHO?” Alya insisted again.

“Oh, wonderful!” Simmons said at the same time Fitz said, “Great news!”

Alya poked Daisy’s cheek and asked yet again, “But who are we _talking about_?”

“Remember that picture in my bunk that I keep by my bed?” Daisy asked.

“With you and your mama and daddy?” Alya asked innocently.

Daisy nodded, slightly shocked. She had never called May and Coulson her parents, but somehow a 6-year-old had connected the dots. “Yeah, that one. Well today I got to see my mama for the first time in a loooooong time.”

Alya nodded solemnly. “Mama says that’s why you’re so sad. Cause you haven’t seen your mama in a long time.”

Daisy pocked eyes with Simmons who gave her an apologetic look. “It’s alright,” Daisy mouthed to her friend.

“Aunt Daisy, I’d be l very sad if I didn’t get to see my mama for a long time.”

“Yeah, A-cakes. That’s why I’ve been so sad.” Daisy said with a small smile. “But I’ll be better soon. Do you know why?”

“Why?” Alya asked curiously.

“Because if our plan works, we’ll have my mom back before you know it!”

Alya’s eyes widened with excitement. “Will I get to meet her?”

“You bet!” Daisy said before she started her tickle attack on Alya once again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I started this story before the finale, so forgive any inconsistencies. Hope you guys enjoyed it!


End file.
